New York's Youth 2
by DevilishSophistication
Summary: Blair is adopted into Callum's gang after her own family abandoned her in the streets. She's quickly drawn into a love triangle with Callum and Beckett that will prove dangerous for her, and also for the one she loves most.
1. Chapter 1

**BLAIR'S POV**

I walked down the street, tears brimming behind my eyes but not spilling down my cheeks. I swore to myself that I would not cry. I would not shed tears for those who would shed none for me. My own family had kicked me out. They shunned me now. I had no place to go.

I ran a hand across my stomach, feeling the tiny bump there. I let it rest on top of my abdomen, imagining how it would feel in a while when the baby began to kick.

"We're going to be okay." I assured her.

Her? Or was it a him?

I didn't know the gender yet.

"What will I name you?" I asked, looking down at my baby.

"Excuse me ma'am, but are you talking to yourself?" A boy stepped from the shadows of an alleyway with his head cocked curiously to the side. He eyed me cautiously, like a crazy person. I squinted to make out his features.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "No, no, I was just talking aloud, figuring things out. I'm fine."

"You sure?" He asked, taking a step closer. "'Cause I don't see many pretty ladies like you wandering around these here streets this late in the night with a big old bag on their back."

"Actually, I'm trying to find a cheap motel, you know, a place to stay."

"Well miss, it so happens that me and the boys have got us a spare room back to the house. If you'd like, ya can stay there for the night."

"That's so kind!" I exclaimed, "Thank you!"

"Barge!" A voice barked out from behind me. I heard light footsteps quickly approaching. Curious, I spun around to see who was there. Suddenly an arm closed around my throat and began dragging me back; I felt something sharp against my upper back.

"Back off, the girl's mine!" The boy hissed.

"Let her go." A large figured was coming closer, flanked by at least three others.

"Get your own girl, Callum." The boy dragging me, Barge, hissed again.

"Don't make me hurt you, Barge." Callum said slowly as he approached.

Barge laughed and pulled harder, I coughed and clawed at his arm, but he just squeezed until I was struggling for air. I became dizzier and more lightheaded until I was only catching tiny bits of the exchange between the two boys. I gasped one last time before I thought I was going to pass out, and then his arm just disappeared. I was just an inch from the ground when someone's arms slid between my body and the pavement and lifted me up into the air. I was too out of it and lightheaded to struggle, pull away, or even make sense of what was happening.

I took deep, heaving breaths as strong arms clutched me against a broad chest.

"Let, me, go." I whispered hoarsely after a few minutes of gasping.

"You just got half-strangled, I don't think you can walk quite yet." A low, rough voice said from just above my head. The person who was holding me must have been talking.

"I can walk." I insisted, pulling away from the person.

"Alright." The boy carefully let my legs down and then released my shoulders once he thought I was standing firmly on solid ground. I swayed a bit, and his hand shot out to steady me.

"Be careful." He warned.

"I will." I said, yanking my arm away from him. "Where is my bag?"

"Here." Someone held out a dark lumpy package to me. I reached both hands out to grab it then pulled it back, fumbled to find the straps and put it over my shoulder.

"I have to go now." I said, turning away.

"No." Someone stepped forwards. It was Callum.

"No?" I turned back and stuck out a hip, trying to look sassy and annoyed. "Did you just say no to me?"

"It isn't safe for you to be wandering around. You'll stay with us tonight and we'll work something else out in the morning." Callum told me.

"Fine." I was too tired to argue. I didn't trust these boys, seeing as the last one to offer me a place was a psycho, but I didn't really have a choice.

"Beckett," Callum snapped his fingers in the air. The boy who had carried me appeared at his side.

"Yessir?"

"Carry the girls bag for her. It's only polite."

"Yessir." Beckett took my bag off my shoulder and started walking with the rest of the group.

"Come on now," Callum said to me, "It's not much further."

I glared at him through the darkness and followed the black shapes fading into the night. I wondered where they were leading me.

**BECKETT'S POV**

I carried the girl's bag as she walked a bit behind me, and although I never looked at her I could feel her glare digging into the back of my head. She obviously didn't trust us. She probably didn't want to be with us. She didn't know that we were her safest option right now. It wasn't safe for her to be just wandering around these parts, day or night.

When we eventually reached the house, she hesitated at the door.

"Go." Callum ordered. She went inside. Nobody disobeyed Callum. It wasn't just because he was the head of our house, he had always had an air of authority about him and there was no way around it. Even if they didn't want to, people always ended up doing what Callum wanted of them.

"Beckett." Callum barked out.

"Yessir?" I turned and snapped to attention. I felt like a marine or something, a15 year old orphaned marine. That was an interesting thought.

"Take the girl to her room."

"Which room, sir?"

"Maddox's. He can bunk with you tonight."

"Yessir." I turned to the girl. "Follow me, miss." I turned again and marched up the stairs, hearing her light footsteps behind me.

"Ow!" A thud shook the stairs as she tripped over someones jacket lying on the steps. I helped her up and made sure she was okay.

"Watch where you're going." I warned her.

"I'm trying! It's too dark in here." She snapped back.

Too dark? I looked around. Sure, we didn't have any lights on, but the light coming in the windows from the near-full moon was enough to see by.

"It isn't too dark, what are you talking about?"

"I've got night blindness, I can't see in the dark." She told me.

"Oh." I said simply and continued leading her to her room, kicking aside the few things lying about.

I kicked Maddox out of his room and sent him down the steps to mine. I put the girl's bag on the bed and paused awkwardly, unsure of what to do now.

"I'm Blair." She said after an awkward minute.

"Beckett." I replied, and then left.

I paused at the top of the stairs, listening to Callum scold a younger boy who'd only just gotten back to the house. It was nearly five in the morning, far past the 3a.m. curfew that Callum had set. Our 17 year old leader ran those under his like a military force, and our house like the barracks. Callum's heavy steps trudged towards the stairs and boys scurried around to tidy the hall and their rooms before he got there.

"Beckett." He said. I glanced up to see him standing directly in front of me.

"Yessir?"

"The girl is taken care of?"

"Yessir. And her name is Blair, sir."

"Blair…" He thought about this for a moment. "A pretty name for a pretty young girl."

"I think she's about your age, sir."

"Is she now? I never really saw her face."

"Yessir, I believe she is."

"Hmm…" Callum nodded and slipped past me, walking to the very end of the long hall and ducking to the left into his own room. Blair's was right across the hall.

"Yo, Beckett?" Someone called quietly from downstairs. "Is he out yet?"

"Give it a few minutes." I whispered back. I knew they heard me by the sound of boys retreating back into their rooms. About ten minutes later, all of the boys in the house, minus Callum, were gathered in the basement.

"Why'd he bring her back here? Callum has got a rule against girls in the house and he's never broken a rule before." Puck asked. Many boys in the group nodded, they were all just as confused as he.

"Maybe he's taken a fancy to her."

"He hasn't even seen the girl in the light of day. If he don't know what she really looks like, how could he like her?"

"Love at first sight?" A tiny boy, a newbie, piped up.

"Aww you shush! There's no such thing!" Boys berated him, tossing their hats and shoes at the little rookie.

"Callum is going to retire." I said.

"Retire?" Maddox asked, leaning forwards in interest. "What do you mean?"

"He's getting out of the gangs. I remember a long time ago, he told me that once he was done with all of this gang business, he wanted to get himself a girlfriend, a job and start a real life. He wanted to go legit." I explained.

"Callum Proctor is trying to get a girlfriend? That damn drill sergeant is going to scare her off before she even has a chance to learn his middle name."

"You guys are awful loud down here. I'm surprised Callum himself hasn't come down yet." We all twisted round to see Blair standing at the bottom of the concrete steps leading into the dank basement. Nobody knew what to say.

"Callum sleeps like a log." Somebody finally said.

"Interesting. Anyways, I'm not very interested in staying in a gang house, so you should all let him know tomorrow that I left while you were asleep and he'll have to find himself another girl." She told the group. Some boys shifted about uneasily.

"You can't leave." Maddox said.

"You can't keep me here."

"I have to. I'm under orders, miss." He replied.

"Then I'll leave tomorrow." She decided. We all glanced around at each other. If Callum really had decided that he wanted Blair, she would never leave this place.


	2. Chapter 2

**CALLUM'S POV**

I woke early the next morning, not because I wanted to. I just had a lot on my mind. I was almost 18. I wanted to get out of the gangs. The most common excuse for leaving the gangs was 'I'm getting too old for this shit.' I didn't have the luxury of age. I was young; I should be getting ready to move up to the older gangs. I was one of the oldest in the 'Baby Gangs' right now. Once I was 18, if a gang boss thought I was good enough he would ask me to work for him. I didn't want to work for anybody.

My birthday was in a month, so I only had 30 days to find a way out of town. Although, I didn't _have_ to leave town. There was an unwritten rule of the gangs, if you're 18 and you've got a girl, a boss can't ask you to work for them. It was considered dishonorable to drag a girl into dangerous gang life. Being in the younger gangs could be just as dangerous as being in a gang after you're 18, but the bosses didn't know that, so the rule remained.

If I could get Blair, then I would automatically be out of the gangs, for good.

**BLAIR'S POV**

I don't know what time I got up at, I just knew I was hungry. I quickly decided that I would get food here and then be gone before too many people woke up. Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone already had. I worked my way through the crowded main room and into the kitchen before shuffling through the cupboard and fridge, entirely prepared to help myself to whatever I wanted.

What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked. I swirled around with a bagel in my mouth, cream cheese in one hand and a butter knife in the other. It was a boy I recognized from last night, he was the one who'd said he was under orders to keep me here.

"Breakfast." I replied, my words muffled by the shaped mass of cinnamon-raisin bread between my teeth.

"I see that." He said, taking the knife and bagel-dressing out of my hands. "You can keep that, seeing as you've already bitten it." He put the knife back in the drawer and the cream cheese back in the fridge. I watched his dark brown hair that seemed perfectly combed, yet effortless at the same time. His piercing stare that stuck out from under the bangs that just grazed his eyebrows. I was taller than him, but I couldn't deny he was very attractive.

"Blair," He said as he shut the refrigerator door, "I figured you would already be gone by now."

"You say that like I shouldn't be here." I said back, pausing and trying to remember his name.

"Maddox." He offered.

"Get out of my head." I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay then. Since everyone is already up it's too late for you to leave. Somebody would be bound to tell Callum you were still here when I was up, and he would have my ass for breakfast."

"Well I don't want that." Sarcasm was heavy in my voice.

Maddox laughed. "You don't like me very much right now."

"Don't worry, it's nothing personal." I laughed. He was so easy to talk to; I was actually starting to feel more comfortable here.

"Oh, good. I was worried I'd offended the pretty lady." He joked.

I was just working up the bravery to ask a serious question, why I was here, when a boy of average height with short brown hair came into the kitchen. He stared at me for a second, then grabbed an apple off the counter and left.

"Don't mind him, it's just Langdon." Maddox said.

"Mads," Langdon came back in.

"Hey, narcissist, were your ears burning?" Maddox asked cleverly.

"Definetly," Langdon rolled his eyes. "Anyways, it's my day for a grocery run and I figured I'd bring the girl along. She's so eager to get outta here she might as well get some fresh air."

"Take Beckett with you, and make sure her bag stays here."

"Yeah-huh." Langdon nodded to Maddox, then to me to follow him.

"Oooh, you're good." I said to Maddox. By sending two boys I wouldn't be able to escape, and he knew I wouldn't leave without my bag. These boys were smart.

**BECKETT'S POV**

At the store, Langdon and I kept our heads down. Grocery days were dreaded, because nobody wanted to be spotted pushing a cart down aisle after aisle debating prices and checking a list to see what was still needed. It was domestic and in the gangs, considered a woman's job. Unfortunately there were no women in Callum's gang, until now.

Blair pushed the cart without objection. Langdon gave her the list and we both dropped back about ten feet, watching her tossing items into the cart and then continuing down the aisles. After a bit, I realized that a lot of the things she was getting hadn't been on the list.

"Blair, we've got a budget." I reminded her quietly.

"How much?" She asked.

"150, and it's got to last a while." I said.

"Oh, don't worry we'll be fine." She waved me off and kept going, grabbing random products and foods.

I sighed and kept following behind her. I would have preferred not to be there. In fact, why was I there? I ranked above Crow; he didn't have the authority to order me to the store to babysit Blair.

"I'm done!" She announced nearly an hour later after checking out and being literally, one cent below our limit.

"Took you long enough." Langdon grumbled. I just nodded and picked up as many bags as I could carry and started walking. Langdon grabbed two more and Blair got the last, lightest bag. She seemed a bit upset that we'd only left her that one bag to carry. I wondered if she was offended that we thought she couldn't carry as much as us.

**BLAIR'S POV**

I was rooting through the one tiny grocery bag I was carrying, trying to find the protein shake I'd gotten. Langdon gave me an odd look when I pulled it out of the bag. I wanted to tell him to keep the look to himself, he wasn't the one getting ridiculous cravings all the time, but it was none of his business.

"Why, hello there milady." I turned to see a boy standing right behind me, leaning against a wall. I didn't recognize his face but the voice I immediately knew as Barge's, the boy who'd tried to drag me away last night.

"Hello, Sleaze," I hissed and spat at his feet.

"You're still stuck with these poor losers, eh? Why don't ya come back with me, mah darling. You'll get whatever ya want with me and my boys."

"I'd rather not." I replied tersely and turned on my heel again, marching past Beckett and Langdon and down the street. Behind me, I heard Langdon's footsteps but even further back I could hear Beckett give Barge a hushed warning.

"You'd better leave her alone, Barge. There's plenty of other girls in the city, just back off of this one or we're going to have some trouble."

Barge laughed, it was a hoarse, evil sound full of malice and bad intent. A shiver ran down my spine as the sound of Beckett's boots slamming on the pavement as he ran to catch up with us drowned out Barge's dry cackle.


	3. Chapter 3

**BECKETT'S POV**

A few boys were stuffing groceries into the cupboards and fridges, and I leaned against the doorframe in-between the kitchen and the living room. I was watching Blair. She was a curious girl. She was lying across the couch looking at her stomach and making small circles on it with her palm. Every once in a while she would whisper something, sigh, close her eyes and lean her head back a bit. I couldn't usually hear what she said but the last time I did.

"It's going to be okay, baby."

"Who're you talking to?" I asked.

"Nobody." She said quickly, sitting up and shooting me a glare.

"I'm sorry, I was just-" And then I put two and two together. All the food she grabbed at the store; when she got home, how she'd made an enormous plate of bacon, eggs and sausage and eaten it all herself; how she was rubbing her stomach and saying baby…..

"You're pregnant?" I exclaimed, realizing I may have said it a bit too loud.

"What?" Every boy within earshot popped his head into the room to stare at Blair with shocked expressions.

Blair's eyes went wide as saucers and salty tears quickly brimmed in those giant doe eyes and began spilling down her cheeks. She leapt off the couch and sprinted out the front door without a jacket, her bag or anything.

The other boys began looking around at each other but soon enough all of their gazes settled on me.

"I have to go get her, don't I?" I asked aloud, glancing around. They all nodded.

"Damn." I muttered. I was the last person she would want to talk to. I hurried out the door after her. She couldn't have gotten far yet. "Blair, where'd you go?"

**BLAIR'S POV**

I heard Beckett calling after me and ducked into the closest alleyway. Crouching there in the shadows, I let silent tears stream down my face and neck until they rested on my already soaked blouse collar. Beckett jogged right by me, still calling my name.

"Go to hell." I whispered after him. He'd no right to out me to everyone like that! They didn't need to know, I wasn't even going to stick around that house long enough for them to find out. It was awkward being around so many boys that I'd never even met before. I leaned against the rough, cool brick and slid the rest of the way to the cracked cement ground. I sat there for quite a while, though I'd no idea of how long. I wanted to just drift off and sleep, so I could dream of being somewhere else, but I was too angry to even shut my eyes. Half of me wanted Beckett to stay away and never speak to me again, but half of me wanted him to come back and find me here so I could scream at him.

Beckett wouldn't find me though. By the time anyone found me it would be hours later, and I would be in the exact same position as before.

**JANE'S POV**

I sat in the big blue spinney chair in my room, slowly rotating while I hammered away at the keys on my laptop.

A knocking at my window startled me, I squealed and the laptop tumbled from my hands to the floor. I rolled my eyes and opened the window.

"Jesus, Maddox! You scared me!" I scolded him as he climbed into my room.

"What do you think I was trying to do?" He grinned and knew he was already forgiven. I could never stay mad at him for long.

"So what's got you stopping by this early in the day?" I asked, retrieving my laptop from the floor and placing it carefully on the desk. I turned around to find him standing only an inch from me. His strong arms slid around my waist and pulled me even closer.

"What?" He asked, and then kissed me. "Can't I stop by to see my girl without being interrogated?"

"Well," I smiled broadly, bring around him just maybe so giddy. "I suppose you can." We kissed again, but then he pulled back with a more serious look on his face.

"I need a favor." He said.

"I knew it!" I pushed him away angrily. "You never stop by in the morning without a motive!"

"A motive? Janey, I'm just asking for a favor. You make it sound like I'm about to murder someone." He held his hands out towards me in an apologetic, pleading sort of gesture.

"What's the favor?" I said tersely, sitting down on the bed. He sat next to me and explained.

_The poor girl!_ I thought. "I'll talk to her."

"Remember I'll be close by, if anything or anyone seems odd then just yell and I'll be right there." Maddox reminded me. "And thank you, Jane."

"You owe me. " I stole another kiss before he shot out the window and I headed for my apartment door, easily sneaking past my oblivious parents.

**BLAIR'S POV**

A shadow blocked the bit of sun that was reaching me in my hiding space. "Are you Blair?"

"Yeah, what do you want?" I squinted up at them. It was a girl, about my age.

"Maddox sent me." She said, sitting down in front of me.

"Oh, then piss of and tell him to do the same." I replied with well overdone false cheer.

"He and I both think that Beckett shouldn't have reacted that way. It's safer for you at the house, and you should come back."

"I can't go back, and I won't."

"Why not?"

"It's none of your business."

"If you won't tell me it can't be that big of a deal."

"It is."

"It doesn't seem like it."

"Why are you here?"

"It's none of your business." The girl smiled. I glared at her.

"Mads said that your bag is still at the house. You'll at least need to come back for that, and one more night at the house won't hurt you." She reasoned as she stood up and held out a hand to help me. I took it and held back a groan as she pulled me up. I was horribly stiff from sitting there for so long.

"One night." I said firmly. Tomorrow I would leave and find somewhere else to stay.

"Another thing, now that everyone in the house knows, you haven't got to wear those flowy blouses to hide the baby bump."

I shot another glare at her.

"Oh, and I'm Jane. Maddox's secret girl."

"Secret?"

"Callum's got a rule. No girls allowed. He's turned his gang into the most coveted boys club in underage New York, and it's extremely exclusive. Every boy in that gang knows how to kill. They're like the illegal teenage Navy Seals. You really don't want to mess with them."

"Wow…"

"Especially Beckett."

"Beckett?" I felt a rush of anger again, but resigned myself to quietly listening to what Jane was saying.

"Yeah, that boy is a beast. That's why he's Callum's right-hand man. If you spend any time around him you can tell he wants out though. He resents Callum. I think he would be happier being one of the lower-ranking newbies than a high-up guy with authority and responsibility. You've got to watch carefully but its definetly there. He hesitates whenever he has to give an order or boss someone around." She explained as we walked.

"You seem to spend a lot of time watching him." I remarked. She laughed.

"No, no, no, I just notice things like that. Don't worry, I'm not a stalker."

"Oh, _of course_ you're not."

**MADDOX'S POV**

I slammed my fist on the hardwood of the basement door three times. The lock turned and the door slowly opened.

"Oh, hey Mad." Langdon said, relieved that Callum wasn't back yet.

"They're back." I reported.

"Who?" The constantly clueless Langdon asked.

"The girls, moron. Tell Beckett to get up here." I stuck my head through the door to see where Beckett was.

"I'm coming." Beckett said as he slipped past Langdon and I and then headed for the main room.

"Don't screw this up." I warned him.

"Grunt." He retorted, and I laughed. It was our little joke, Beckett was higher-up in the gang than me, but we acted the opposite.

"So now it's _funny_?" Blair burst out angrily. She'd been heading towards us down the hall at the same time we were heading to the main room to meet her. Jane stood quietly behind her, unsure of what to say. The four of us stood in that narrow hall in awkward silence, Beckett and Blair just inches away from each other, Jane behind Blair and I behind Beckett.

"Blair…" Beckett finally said. Jane and I held our breath as we waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything else.

**BECKETT'S POV**

"Blair…" I said, and then stopped. I could think of plenty of things to say, but I didn't have any reason to say them. Since she'd come here, the boys had been nothing but kind, and all of us were only trying to help this girl and give her a place to stay. It wasn't right of her to live with us but not tell us about something so important. Of course it wasn't right of me to out her to everyone in that way, but she wasn't the only one with a right to be angry.

"What? Are you even going to apologize?" She began raising her voice.

"No." I said firmly. Now I was starting to get angry. I was usually very controlled, but something about this girl just set my blood a' boiling.

"No?" She sounded surprised. "Did you just say no?"

"I'm not going to apologize to you, I didn't do anything!" I yelled.

"That's bullshit! You outed me in front of everyone! What kind of an asinine retard does that? Oh, wait, I think I know one. _**You!**_" She hollered back.

"You're the one who was hiding it from us! And it's not my fault that they heard me!"

"You didn't have to say it out loud though!"

"You didn't have to stay here and lie to us!"

"I didn't lie!"

"Well you sure didn't tell the truth!"

"Oh, go to hell!" She screamed at me, then turned on her heel and stomped back down the hall and up the stairs. I ran to the bottom of the stairs and called after her, "right back at you!"

"Jerk!" Her screech carried down the stairs. I stormed to the front of the house, out the door and down the street. I felt like I was going to kill somebody if I stayed there.

Why did she make me so angry? I'd never felt this mad before. I was always a calm, cool and collected person. I didn't like any sort of conflict or fighting and I had never yelled at somebody before. I didn't even know that I could yell that loud.

I thought about her face. Blair's beautiful face…

I imagined her intense dark eyes, and light mocha-colored skin. Her full red lips, her perfect nose that turned up the slightest bit at the end, and her sweet heart shaped face, surrounded by a thick curtain of wavy brown hair so dark that it was almost black.

She made me feel fury and intense longing at the same time, and I both hated and adored her for it.

**BLAIR'S POV**

How dare he! That stupid, stupid boy! How dare he treat me like that, and talk to me in that way! I punch a pillow and screamed, burying my face in it. I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking. I'd always been cursed by my temper, but I usually thought that the people I fought with deserved it. I had never regretted yelling at someone before, but suddenly, I did. I wish I hadn't screamed at Beckett. I wish I could have calmed down, I wish that we'd sat down and calmly talked about it.

I shut my eyes and his face quickly appeared in my head. I could clearly see his sharp blue eyes that were always darting about on the alert, his strong jaw that moved as he would absentmindedly grind his teeth and his thick brown hair that went all the way down to the middle of his neck. His hair always looked like he'd spent an hour blow-drying and styling it, but there was no blow-dryer or any sort of hair product in this entire house. I'd checked.

I thought what I would do when he got back. Should I apologize? No. I wouldn't. Although, I wasn't sure if I wanted to kiss him or slap him…


	4. Chapter 4

**JANE'S POV**

"What just happened?" I asked Maddox after we'd watched Blair and Beckett storm off in opposite directions. We heard a furious muffled scream from upstairs and I sighed. "Don't you dare try and make me fix this."

"Jane," Maddox began.

"No! I don't care what you say; I am so not getting into the middle of this. I've done my share." I shook my head and turned away a bit. There was no way he could talk me into this.

"Jane," He said again, his voice had a lower, more romantic tone to it now.

"I won't do it. You can't make me." I wasn't so sure this time...

"But Jane, you're the only one smart enough to figure out how to fix this. No one can do it but you."

_Damn._ I thought, _He's good at this._ "Fine. I'll help." I said sourly. He laughed, kissed me and disappeared out the door; obviously going after Beckett. That boy knew exactly how to get what he wanted, and he always got it.

**MADDOX'S POV**

I turned a corner and nearly ran into Beckett.

"Maddox, what are you doing out here?" He asked, seeming surprised to see me.

"What was that?"

"What?" His voice went flat. Well I didn't care if he didn't want to talk about it. Callum would have our asses if Blair left, so I had to fix this before she did.

"You never yell, or get mad or anything. What happened back there?"

Beckett shrugged. "I guess I just got mad."

"But why?"

"I don't know."

"You gotta go back and apologize."

"Yeah, because that went so great last time."

"You actually have to be sorry this time, not make her angrier."

He shrugged again.

"Callum will kill us if she doesn't stay! Don't you get it? Make her at least think you're sorry, just enough so she'll stay." I grabbed Beckett's shoulders and shook the taller boy, trying to get my point through his thick skull.

"Alright."

**BLAIR'S POV-FLASHBACK**

I stood with my back to my family leaning with my palms pressed flat against the blood-red wall I'd grown to despise. I waited for the dreaded break in their silence, where I knew my mother's temper would come slamming down upon my in full force. I also knew that I would yell back. My father, and younger brother and sister-who were twins-would not say anything and just sit in their cowardice with heads bowed while they waited out the storm.

"_**How dare you bring such shame upon this family!**_" My mother screeched. I swirled around to find her standing only inches from me. Before I could react or even realize what she was doing, her fist closed around the collar of my cream silk blouse and she was dragging me away. She threw me down when we reached the stairs and she pointed up to my bedroom.

"You have three minutes. Pack your things." Her voice was suddenly quiet, and strangely calm.

"Pack?" I asked.

"You're leaving, and don't you dare come back here. _**Ever.**_"

"You're kicking me out?" I yelled.

"You made your choices to shame yourself and our family and this is what you deserve!" She yelled back.

I'd never been this angry. The only reason I didn't yell back is because I didn't think I could scream loud enough to fully represent how furious I was. I turned and ran up the stairs, throwing my things into a bag. I zipped the bag and stormed back down the stairs, pausing at the door when an idea struck me. I turned around and stopped in the white kitchen with light marble countertops and polished wooden floors, pulling all of the money out of both my mother and father's wallets and stuffing it deep into the bottom of my bag where all of my own money was. I considered for a moment, running back up the stairs to Ellie and John's rooms to take their money but decided against it. Not because I held no grudges against them, for I had plenty, but because I knew it wouldn't be much and that I didn't have the time. I tore open a cupboard door, not knowing what I'd expected to see, and grabbed the first thing I saw. It was a freshly baked loaf of French bread my mother had bought only this morning.

"What are you doing?" My mother's cold voice asked from behind me.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?"

"Engaging in criminal activities," She hissed, stepping forwards and digging her hawk-like claws into my arm. "You don't live here, you're trespassing and stealing and I _will_ call the police on you, you filthy little whore!"

Before I knew what I was doing I'd pulled back my free arm and slapped her across the face hard enough to know her down. I know I had that kind of strength from boxing, but I'd never used it outside of the ring before. It seemed that I should apologize, but I never would. I rubbed the place where her nails had left large red marks on my skin and glared down at my mother, a dark welt forming on one side of her face.

"You deserved that and a million more." I told her. She gasped. I stayed only a moment more to revel in the sight of her lying there, hurt and defeated by a single blow of my hand and a single harsh truth. I knew I couldn't stay any longer, though. This was not my home. It never had been and by now I had nothing left but a well-worn out welcome.

Just outside on the concrete steps outside of our house, I felt a much gentler hand close around my arm.

"Blair," Anne, my younger sister, started. "Don't go. Mother didn't mean any of that."

"That's bullshit, Anne! You know it is! She means every single thing she says and everything she doesn't too."

"But you can't just leave! Where will you go? Don't leave me." Anne pleaded.

"I've got no reason to stay. Especially not for you, or Edmund, or even for Father. None of you ever stood up for me when she got angry, when she yelled and screamed and called me things and kicked me out for days at a time! It was me against her, you were all too absorbed in your own damn cowardice to do anything about it!"

"Blair!" Anne exclaimed at my harsh words.

"Even when she hit me. Not even Father spoke up to her, and especially not you. But tonight, tonight I hit back! And I'll tell you Anna, it felt great. I wish I would have hit her back years ago."

"Please, think of your baby! You can't live on the streets…"

"I won't. But I can't live here." I said, finally turning my back to her and walking away. "Now go back inside so you can get on with your own miserable life. I hope you enjoy being Mother's perfect child."

"Blair…" My sister's tiny voice floated after me. I didn't need to look back to know that her eyes would be brimming with tears of hurt and loss, and I didn't need to see this to know that it didn't bother me for her to be hurt. My only pain came from the loss of the closest thing I'd ever had to a home and a family.


	5. Chapter 5

**BLAIR'S POV**

Three knocks came on the door to the room the boys were letting me use.

"It's Jane." She called.

"So?" I replied.

"Can I come in?" She asked politely.

"No." I replied again.

"Okay." She said and came in anyways, this time not-so-politely.

"I said no." I reminded her, pulling my face out of the pillow it was buried in long enough to glare at her.

"It's not your house."

"It's not yours either."

"This is stupid. Lets not argue. I'm not even the one you're mad at."

"He's an ass." The pillow muffled my words and made everything sound smashed together.

"He isn't usually. I've never seen him yell at anyone before, not even get mad in the slightest." She explained.

"Oh, great." I rolled over so she could hear me better. "So I'm _special_?"

"That isn't what I meant."

"Why are you here, Jane?"

"He's going to come back and apologize. When he does that, you're going to forgive him."

"Why should I?" Blair burst out, sitting up with tears in her round dark eyes. "He had no right to be like that and out me to everyone!"

"It doesn't matter. Maddox and I need to get things running smoothly again in this house before Callum gets home, and that doesn't give us much time. Plus, I've got to be far away from this house before Callum gets anywhere near it. So you're going to suck it up, put on a happy face and make up with Beckett. Got it?" Jane explained firmly. I just stared at her with my jaw on the floor. I didn't know she could be so bossy. Maybe bossy wasn't the best word for it, but she definitely knew how to dish out orders.

"Can I at least ask why I'm doing this?"

"No. Now buck up and go. Beckett will be back any minute." She shook her head and ushered me out the door. We sat down on one of the couches in the main room to wait.

**BECKETT'S POV**

"Blair…" I began. She crossed her legs, raised one eyebrow and leaned forwards a bit, waiting.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry." I forced out. Why was this so hard to say? I'd never had an issue with apologies before.

"Okay. Accepted. Bye now!" She slid past everyone in the room and headed towards the front of the house. Maddox and I exchanged confused looks.

"Bye?" Maddox asked. Then his face lit up. "Oh! Blair, wait!"

He dashed after her. I stopped to think for moment and suddenly remembered her bag sitting just inside the doorway. When did she put that there? It must have been earlier today when no one was paying attention.

"Shit." I turned and also began running out the door after Blair. Just halfway down the block outside the house Blair and Maddox were arguing. Or more Blair was trying to argue and Maddox was trying to persuade her to turn around.

"Move, shorty." I said, pushing Maddox aside and stepping towards Blair.

"What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously, trying to step away.

"You're not leaving yet." I told her. I ducked down, wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her up into the air so she was hanging over my right shoulder like a big rucksack.

"_**PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!**_" She screeched. Actually, screeched wasn't the right word for it. I'd never heard someone scream so loud.

"Good lord, could you get any louder?" I asked, wondering if I'd gone deaf in the ear she was yelling in. A neighbor gave me an odd look and asked if everything was okay.

"We're fine, sir. Don't you worry!" I replied, waving and smiling.

"_**LEMME GO YOU BIG LUG!**_"

"Oh, dang. Did she just call me a lug?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Maddox. He laughed and nodded.

**MADDOX'S POV**

"Oh, dang. Did she just call me a lug?" Beckett asked, laughing. I laughed back and nodded. Was Beckett making a joke? What was with him lately? First he yelled at Blair, and now he was joking around with her. Or maybe about her. Either way this was so unlike him. The last joke I remember him making was three years ago when I had first arrived in Callum's gang-but back then we had a different boss.

Beckett carried Blair back inside and upstairs to the room she was using. He shut the door behind them and set her down.

"How dare you! Let me leave!"

"I'm just asking you to hear me out, listen to what I've got to say, and then I'll get out of your way and if you want to you can walk right out that door."

I was right outside the door, listening to the conversation with Jane and a few of the boys. This should be interesting.

**BLAIR'S POV**

I sighed. I couldn't place it, but for some reason I didn't want to yell anymore. I was actually going to listen to him!

"Fine. But make it quick." I sat back on the bed and crossed my arms, waiting for him to speak. He came over and sat next to me.

"I'm sorry I yelled at your earlier. I'm sorry I was so loud when I figured it out. I'm sorry I made you cry, and I'm sorry I was a jerk."

"Am I really here just for an apology?" I glanced down at our hands. While he was apologizing he had taken each of my hands in one of his own. Should I pull away? Or maybe this was okay…

"No. You're also here because I need you to realize how dangerous this neighborhood is. I don't know where you're from or what kind of life you had before we found you, but until you have someone you know and trust ready to take you in, this is the safest place for you. We're in charge of this side of town, and nobody will mess with you if they know that you're coming back to sleep here every night. I don't want you to get hurt, Blair. So please, just stay here. At least for now." Beckett pleaded, he squeezed my hands and I could see in his eyes how he meant every word he was saying. From the apology to his begging for me to stay, he was being completely real.

"Okay." I finally said. How could I say no? His entire body relaxed and a lopsided grin spread across his face.

"At least for now." I added. His grin shrunk a bit and he nodded.

"Alright." He said. "I, I guess I'll leave you alone now." He looked towards the door as if to leave, but didn't move.

"Are you going to leave?" I inquired softly. I was half-hoping he would stay with me for a while. I didn't want him to go yet.

**BECKETT'S POV**

"Are you going to leave?" Blair asked. She leaned forwards the slightest bit and her big beautiful eyes were looking right up at me. There was no way I could leave now.

"No," I said quietly, smiling down at her. "Not yet."

"Good." She smiled with those soft red lips and leaned closer to me. My hand slid around her back and I kissed her. What else could I do? It just seemed right. Right away, she was kissing back and one of her hands tangled itself in my hair while the other pressed against my stomach.

Callum would murder me if he found out I was making out with the girl he wanted to be his own. But that didn't matter then. I wasn't thinking about Callum, the gangs, or anything like that. For now, there was nothing but me and Blair.

I was really happy about that.


	6. Chapter 6

**BECKETT'S POV**

"Hey," I whispered into Blair's hair when her eyes finally opened. The sun was peeking in through the window and landing right on her squinted sparkling dark doe eyes.

"Oh, god. How early is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Eight." I chuckled. This was late for me. I was usually up by 6:30.

"When did we fall asleep?" She sat up and stretched her arms out over her head, yawning again.

"Probably around 12." I guessed.

"Six hours?" She sounded like she didn't even believe it.

"We were talking for a lot of the time." I explained.

"Oh."

It had been around 6 when I first kissed her. We made out for a while, talked for a while, made out again and by that time she was tired and we just lay together on top of the covers and talked.

"I'm hungry." She announced as she stood up next to the bed.

"Mmmm," I put my hands around her waist and pulled her back down to the bed. "Food can wait."

"Just for a little while," She smiled, and within the moment we were kissing again.

"I like you," I whispered between kisses. She pulled back with a huge smile on her beautiful face.

"Oh, I," Her words were suddenly cut off by five quick, hard knocks on the door.

"Shit," I grumbled, sitting up immediately. That was emergency code among the boys that Callum was back. He must have been out all night. Knowing how thin the walls were in this house, and how the boys talked, everyone but Callum would know that I was with Blair in her room all of last night.

"What?" Blair sat up too, placing a worried hand on my shoulder.

"Callum is back." I looked around the room. Should I hide in here for a while, or just try to slip out and hope Callum wasn't in the hall?

"So what?" She asked, not understanding why I was so upset.

"I don't think you get it, Blair. Callum wants out of the gangs, and you're his ticket out. If he's got a girl, they can't ask him to go onto the bigger gangs. He'll be able to get out of here and start over with a real life. He wants _you_." I explained hurridly.

"But I don't want him." She countered, a tiny pout flitting across her lips.

"I know, but it doesn't matter to him. He doesn't quite understand the meaning of 'no'." I told her. Callum was more stubborn than rock and if he wanted Blair, he would get her. And if someone came between him and Blair-a.k.a. _ME_- he would take them out of the picture without a moment's hesitation.

"Then go." She insisted, moving so I could get out off of the bed. "Slip out before he sees and we'll pretend it never even happened." I stood, and was about to go when I realized how cold and emotionless her voice had just been.

"Blair, we won't pretend it didn't happen. We just have to make sure Callum doesn't find out until we can figure things out. We'll make it work. I promise." As I said this I leaned down in front of her and gently held her heart-shaped face between my hands. "For now, and only for now we'll pretend. Now stay in here for a little while, and then come downstairs as if you'd just woken up. Just give me some time to figure things out, and we _will_ make it work. I promise." I kissed her softly one more time and slipped quietly out the door.

**BLAIR'S POV**

I hated to see him go. Why did we have to pretend at all? I sighed, and settled back against the one lonely pillow to wait for a while. I'd only been there a minute when a wave of nausea passed over me and my eyes went wide as saucers. There was no way I could stay in here for another second. I sprinted out the door and blasted through the door of the closest bathroom, grateful that it was empty. After puking, I kicked the door shut with my foot and just sat there with my face resting against the porcelain. I didn't care that this house was entirely full of adolescent boys. I had already wiped off the seat with wads and wads of toilet paper even though it had looked perfectly clean.

I already had morning sickness. This was all happening so fast. The night my mother kicked me out, I had been so sure that I would be fine, that I could handle this on my own. I thought I didn't need anyone. I had been wrong. While I was sitting on that old wooden floor, worn from the boots of boys treading upon it day after day and year after year, I finally realized that I couldn't do everything alone. Eventually, I would need to allow somebody to take care of me, because right now I wasn't sure I could manage any of this.

Someone knocked lightly on the door. I pulled myself away from the cream colored porcelain and called for them to come in. I'd already flushed all the evidence away so it wasn't like I had anything left to hide. The door swung open and Callum's broad shoulders stood like a menacing shadow in the frame.

"Are you alright?" He walked in and kneeled in front of me. I wanted to tell him to piss off and leave me alone. I wanted him to just go away so I would never have to look at his stupid, selfish face ever again.

"I'm fine." I said instead. I stood up, steadied myself on the counter and walked past him. Hopefully he would just stay in there and wonder why I was blowing him off.

"Blair," Damn. He'd followed me.

"What?" I replied without turning to face him as we walked down the stairs.

"I, uh, was just wondering…" He trailed off. In the doorway to the kitchen he still hadn't continued. I swirled around to find him standing unnervingly close to me.

"What were you saying?" I asked with a sickly sweet tone in my voice.

_Take a hint! Buzz off!_ I thought at him.

"Would you like to go out to dinner or something sometime?

"Something sometime? Damn… Well it's just so specific, I'll have to check my calendar and see if I'm free 'sometime'." My voice was full blown with sarcasm now.

"Okay then, dinner. Tomorrow at seven." He said this with more finality than before. I opened my mouth to reply with some sly remark, when I saw Beckett, Maddox and Langdon standing on the opposite side of the room behind Callum. Langdon and Maddox nodded at me, encouraging me to say yes. But, the look on Beckett's face was so mixed and full of varying emotions I couldn't even begin to read it.

"Sure." I said, hating my self for saying it. "Why not?"

"Good." Callum relaxed. "I've got to go now, but tomorrow!" He turned and left, heading right out the door.

Beckett nodded for me to follow him, and I did. He headed for the basement and once we were down there he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled louder than I'd heard anyone whistle before.

"Grunts!" He barked. Every boy in the room regarded him with shock and a touch of fear. They seemed surprised he was being so gruff. "All of you, _out_." He pointed upstairs. The room was empty in seconds and the door shut behind them all.

"Why did you say yes?" He demanded.

"Why didn't you tell me to say no?" I squared my stance and put my hands on my hips.

"Damn it, Blair! Don't let him do this to you!" He turned and slammed his fist against the gray concrete wall.

"Do what? What could he possibly do to me? What are you talking about?"

"Last night. I told you about my life. My parents have been dead since I was eight, and I've been here since three days after they died. Before Callum was boss of the gang, he was the biggest player I'd ever met. Girl's hated him, but he would convince them to go on one date with him, and they always came back absolutely drooling over him. I can't let you go to dinner with him." His body was stressed and he leaned his head against the wall with his eyes shut tight as he awaited my reply.

"I'm not like that, Beckett. I won't come back after one night and suddenly be into someone else." I said through clenched jaw, trying not to yell.

"Please." He faced me again, the anger drained from his face, "Please don't go."

"Beckett, I really like you. I'm going to go to dinner with him tomorrow, and I am going to spend the entire night thinking about how much I would rather be with you. When the date is done, I'm going to come back and I really hope you'll be here for me when I do."

He relaxed a bit, realizing this was how it would have to be.

"Alright." He agreed. I leaned into him and his arms wrapped around me. I pressed my face into his chest and my arms squeezed around his waist.

"Beckett?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah?" He looked down.

"If you're a year younger than me, how did you get to be so much taller?" He laughed at my question and kissed the top of my head.

"You really get under my skin." He said in an entirely unrelated bird-walking sort of sentence.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I was a tad confused now.

"Nobody has ever made me so furious before, but no one has ever made me want them so much at the same time. And to think, It's hardly been two days."

"Time is relative to the observer. It could have been two years to someone else." I leaned back into him and he held me a little tighter.

"I have to go, you know." He whispered after a while.

"Gang business?"

"Nothing illegal today. There's a gang in a different part of the city that we've got to visit. They're a sort of ally to us."

"I want to go." I decided.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Callum will be back any minute. Ask him. I'm sure he'll say yes to you."

"You're his right-hand man. Can't you just say yes to me?"

"I could, but he'd kill me. Just wait a bit. Now come on. Let's go back upstairs." I resigned to following him up the stairs, but felt like turning right back around when I encountered all of the stares from the boys gathered in the main room.

"Have fun last night?" Maddox asked, waggling his eyebrows at me.

"Oh, you shut up!" I slapped the back of his head and he laughed.

"If Callum finds out…" Someone muttered.

"We're all dead then." Another boy added.

"He's a' gonna kill us all, Beckett." A third boy complained.

"If you didn't know about it, he can't hold you for it. You're all oblivious fools from now on so shut up and leave the girl alone." Beckett said to the whole room.

"Is she _**your girl**_ now?" Langdon questioned. Beckett looked at me qith wondering eyes. Was I?

"I guess I am." I smirked.

Before anyone else had a chance to make a wise comment or whine about how they were going to end up dead, I slipped away and up the stairs to lie in my new room and reminisce about last night. At least until Callum came home.


	7. Chapter 7

**BECKETT'S POV**

Blair and I didn't have much time together that day. Callum was only gone for a short hour on his mysterious errands until he got back to the safehouse.

"Everyone get in here!" He barked. It only took a few seconds for every person in the house to be standing at attention in the main room, with Blair leaning against a wall behind all of the boys.

"Beckett, Langdon and Shaine. You're coming with me across town to talk to Benny's gang." He dished out the orders, "Mickey, you watch the girl." I saw Blair raise an annoyed eyebrow at being referred to as 'the girl'.

"Yessir." We all replied, and with pretty good harmony I might add.

"Wait." Blair interrupted Callum's dramatic exit. He turned back on his heel to face her. "I want to come, too." Callum froze. He wasn't sure what to say.

"I'll stay out of the way, but as long as I'm living here I want to know what you're up to every day." She reasoned. Callum's brow furrowed.

"Fine. Mickey, you come with and keep her safe, got it?" Callum decided, snapping his fingers at Mickey.

"Yessir." I narrowed my eyes at Mickey. He glanced over and gave a small nod. I hoped that he knew if anything happened to Blair, it wasn't Callum he should be afraid of.

**JANE'S POV**

"Mads, hang on for a minute." I said, pulling away and removing his hands from around my waist.

"What?" He asked, looking impatiently at my still moist lips.

"I can't stop thinking about Blair."

"Come on, baby. This is our time."He complained.

"The gangs got almost no money. She's pregnant." I explained. "She'll need check-ups, treatments, and the hospital bill will be _massive_. Has anyone thought about what she's going to cost you all?" He opened his mouth to say something then stopped, did it again, then sighed.

"You made me think. Damn it, Jane..." He glared at his feet.

"Okay, let me simplify it. If Blair stays here, the gang is going to lose a lot of money."

"Wait, we can't afford to lose any money!" Maddox looked up with an alarmed look on his face.

"Now you've got it!"

"So, we kick her out?"

"No. You can't kick a pregnant teenager onto the bad streets of New York!"

"But... Then what do we do?"

"How would I know?"

"You always know! Knowing is just what you do!"

"Well now I don't know. You'll have to tell Callum about this, because I'll bet that this hasn't occurred to a single one of the boys."

"Wait, why me?"

"Because you're the one who knows now."

"I don't want to die..."

"Oh good lord, Mads. You're not gonna die. I have to go, but you need to go man up and tell Callum about the financial situation. Got it?" I told him, as I paused with my hand on the door.

"Fine." He pouted, crossing his arms like a child. I rolled my eyes and left. I couldn't always be there to take care of my baby of a boyfriend.

**BLAIR'S POV**

The walk across town was awkward and painfully long. Not painfully as in I was bored out of my mind, but my feet were killing me. My shoes were fine, but I think they were already starting to swell up. In addition, I could feel Callum's eyes on me the entire time. He was walking behind the rest of us, while I was in the middle with Mickey and Shaine, with Beckett and Langdon ahead of us. I spent the whole trip wishing I'd just stayed back at the house and made a sandwich. Maybe I could get a sandwich from a street vendor. I had money in my bag. Where was my bag? Oh, right. It was at the house. Well forget about a sandwich!

"We're here." Mickey announced, stopping short just in front of me. I stepped around him to see where we'd stopped.

"No, no way. This isn't a gang's house." I shook my head. The boys had come to a stop in front of a strip club.

"We're not visiting another baby gang today. It's time to wrestle with the big boys." Callum walked past all of us and right through the door.

"Is he serious? Are you guys serious?" I asked as everyone began to follow him.

"Just stay with me and shut up, got it?" Mickey hissed, pushing me in front of him. I bit my tongue and clenched my fists. Something about the tone of his voice made me realize that this visit was more dangerous than I'd thought. We followed Callum in a disorderly line through the dark club, led by the glow weak neon lights flickering in a back room.

"Cine sunteţi?" A heavily accented voice spoke from the darkness in a language I didn't understand.

"Noi suntem din Lower East Side din New York, gasca lui Callum copii. Avem o întâlnire cu şeful." I was surprised to hear Beckett reply in the same language, but with more of an American accent to it.

"Puteţi merge inch Doar trei totuşi. Restul poate aştepta afară." The voice paused. "Sau, poate merge în toate, dar fata ... Voi ţine un ochi bun pe afara ei aici."

Beckett replied tersely and quickly. "Nu, multumesc. Ea va veni cu noi." He looked at us. "He says either three of us can go in, or we all go in but leave Blair with him."

I gulped. "No, no, no just take me with you." Callum whispered something to Beckett.

"Mickey, Langdon, Maddox, keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Beckett ordered. Callum's hand wrapped around my bicep and led me into the lighted room with them.

"No matter what happens, stay close to me." He murmered as we entered.

"Ahh, Callum!" A tall, broad man hefted himself out of a leather office chair behind a carved and polished red desk. "How old are you now?"

"17." Callum said through a clenched jaw, he hesitated, then added, "and eleven months."

The man nodded, then his eyes landed on me. "Who is this? Callum, who does this girl belong to?" I dug my fingernails into my palms. Belong? Who did I belong to? What an ignorant bastard! I didn't belong to anyone but myself.

"She's a friend of mine, staying with us for a while." Callum answered.

"A friend of yours? Just a friend?" The man's heavy accent, similar to the voice outside the door, turned the word friend into "freeeeeeend". It only infuriated me more.

Callum didn't say anything, only raised his eyebrows at the man. I wondered at his response. I wasn't even a friend, although I understood why he said I was, but why did he neglect to answer that I was nothing more than a friend? Possibly because me being more than a friend was his ticket out of the gangs, and possibly because if I was nothing more than that he would never get out.

"Interesting." The man said. "Now, who's this one?" He nodded at Beckett, who looked horribly uncomfortable suddenly being under the examination of the imposing man.

"Just a grunt to run errands for me. He's nobody." Callum shrugged it off. He clearly didn't want this man's focus on Beckett.

"Cineva să ia aceste două stele. Vreau să vorbesc cu grunt!" The man snapped his fingers in the air and two men grabbed Callum and I and practically dragged us out of the room. I resisted the temptation to struggle when I saw Callum actually walking with the men. I craned my neck around to see if Beckett was being roughly escorted out too. He stood frozen in the same spot he'd been the whole time. His hands were clasped behind his back and he stood straight, there was no signs of anxiety or fear in his body language. Why was he trying so hard to appear unafraid? The men who'd dragged us out slammed the door shut behind us and locked it. They let Callum and I go in the hallway and left.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"We wait." Callum's voice was flat.

"But, Beckett's in there all alone!" I worried.

"Just be quiet for now." He was emotionless.

"What are they doing with him?"

"I don't know."

"Do you even care?"

"No. He's just a grunt."

"He is not just a-" Callum's hand smashed into my face and covered my mouth.

"Just be quiet, Blair. Stop talking. Stop asking questions. Just be quiet. Okay?"

I nodded and he let me go. I was really starting to regret coming with them today. Why did I have to know what they were up to? Why couldn't I just let it be?


	8. Chapter 8

**BECKETT'S POV**

Benny, the man who'd been questioning Callum and also the head of the gang we were visiting, looked me up and down before settling back into his large leather chair.

"You're not just a grunt." He decided, "Grunts aren't so trained. You stand like a military man; you're as silent as a ghost and well built like a warrior. If you weren't a valuable asset to Callum, he wouldn't have tried to hide you from me. Now, why are you so special?"

"I don't know, sir." I answered flatly.

"Do you speak Roma?" Benny asked me.

"Da, domnule. _(Yes, sir)._"

"You would be a valuable asset to me, also. How old are you, boy?"

"Fifteen, sir."

"Stop with the sirs, I've no taste for such formalities. Only fifteen though, eh? That's a shame. Although, it's not entirely unheard of for someone to join up at a bit younger age…" Benny leaned back and got lost in thought. I hid a nervous gulp and clasped my hands tighter. My mind raced as I studied his expressions, desperate to figure out his plans for me. Benny was a dangerous boss. That much I knew, and similar to Callum he had a very direct method of always getting what he wanted. I just hoped that wasn't me.

**BLAIR'S POV**

We'd been waiting outside of the room for nearly twenty minutes, I was leaning against a wall watching the door and waiting for Beckett to emerge, while Callum paced quietly back and forth down the long, thin hallway. Finally, the door opened and someone came out of the room, but it wasn't Beckett.

"You two can go now." Benny told us. He looked at Callum, "I'll be in touch about the rest of our deal. I think your payment has just been substantially lowered."

In the dark I saw Callum nod and turn away towards the exit.

"Where's Beckett?" I asked, leaning to see if the door was about to open again.

"Come on, Blair." Callum urged me.

"Wait a second. Where's Beckett? We can't leave without him." I insisted.

"Get the girl out of here before I decide to keep her too." Benny said in a threatening hiss.

"Blair!" Callum grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him.

"No, no! We can't just leave him here!" I exclaimed, struggling against Callum's grasp. He got sick of pulling me and lifted me up in a giant bear hug from behind, carrying me through the club and back outside.

"Callum! Callum let me go! We have to get Beckett! Are we just leaving him with them? Did you plan this?" He finally set me down and in the middle of my next word, his hand had a harsh first meeting with the left side of my face. I was shocked into silence.

"Shut up, Blair! Just shut up." Red faced, he let go of my shoulders and stepped back.

"Did you just hit me?" I asked, in the tiniest voice I'd ever heard come from my own mouth. The only other person I'd even been hit by was my mother; no one else had laid a finger on me in my entire life.

"I think I did…" He said, slowly realizing what he'd just done. "Oh, god. Blair, I'm so,"

"So what? You're so sorry?" I snarled, my voice jumping up an octave and a few million notches in volume. "Don't you dare tell me you're sorry! Don't you dare even speak to me!" I swirled around and marched off in the direction from which we came, trying to ignore the stinging on half of my face.

**CALLUM'S POV**

"Don't you dare even speak to me!" She was furious. She was beyond fury. I'd ignited an unheard of rage within her.

"Uh, sir?" Mickey spoke up, nodding at her figure fading into the crowd.

"Keep up with her; make sure she gets home safe. All three of you go. I'll be back sometime tomorrow…" I ordered them weakly and watched the boys run after her. A small movement caught my eye from a window in the building above, and I ducked away as the window shattered and glass rained down on the spot where I had just been standing. I heard shouting, a few heavy thuds and suddenly I saw Beckett's figure being forced backwards out of the window, unable to fight back since he had his hands braced on either side of the windowsill, the only thing keeping him from falling to his death.

"Now are you going to join us, kid?" Benny asked, his loud voice had a threatening calm to it. I saw Beckett's mouth move, but since the hand pushing him out the window was fastened securely around his throat, all that came out was a strangled sort of groan. I was tempted for a moment to do something to help him, but then a thought crossed my mind. Why was Blair so concerned about his well-being? She'd only known him for two days, and barely at that. It suddenly hit me.

What did he do with her? He knew why I needed her. I was going to kill him. I looked up again. Or, better yet, they would do it for me. Beckett was too loyal to join another gang, and Benny was too stupid to realize that Beckett didn't have a breaking point. He'd have Beckett beaten to death before he let him go free. I glanced up again, satisfied to see that Beckett had been forced another good five inches towards his death. I turned and left before anything else happened. I already knew what would happen; I didn't need to get stuck as a witness.

**BLAIR'S POV**

"We have to get Beckett back." I repeated.

"There's not much we can do. We just have to see how things play out." Maddox said again.

"Why? Why can't we do something about it? Do you even know why they kept him?" I faced him, looking right at his eyes in case he tried to lie to me.

"They want him to be a new recruit. If he says no, they'll convince him to join up." He said truthfully, but glancing away at the word convince.

"Convince?" My eyes got wide. "What does convince mean?"

"Well.. maybe persuade is a better word."

"And what does that mean?"

"Something bad,"

I stopped asking then. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know anymore. For the lack of anything else to do or say, I went upstairs to the room I was staying in (I couldn't bring myself to call it my room) and fell asleep. What else was I supposed to do?

"Beckett!"

"He's back!"

"Guys, he's hurt, get out of the way!"

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of shouts from downstairs. Once I heard his name I bolted out of the room and down the staircase, skipping nearly the entire bottom half.

"Beckett?" I asked excitedly as I ran into the main room. I stopped short, my face collapsing in on its self. "Oh, god," There was blood dripping down across swollen purple patches on his face. He groaned with one eye squeezed shut and the other swollen over. Despite his protests, the boys got him to lie down on the couch while they tried to figure out what else was wrong with him. There were blood roses blooming across different spots on his torso, and he cradled a wrist that was bent at an impossible angle, leading up to curled, crushed fingers.

"There's no way we can fix all of this." Langdon shook his head, stepping away from his injured friend.

"We can't take him to a hospital, it's out of the question." A higher-ranking boy named Trick said.

"Then what?" Maddox asked.

"Langdon, grab some coins and run to the nearest payphone. Call The Brotherhood and tell them one of our boys is hurt. If they ask how he's hurt, just say urgently that it's real bad and there's not much time then hang up." Trick ordered as he took command since the top two were either absent or unable to deal with the situation. Langdon was gone within another second.

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked, grabbing the shirt of the nearest boy. It was a younger one, Puck.

"He'll be fine." He assured me.

"How do you know?" I demanded.

"I don't." He shrugged and pulled away. Maddox must have seen the fear in my face and he came over to comfort me.

"The wounds on his chest and stomach don't look too deep, and he'll recover from the concussion just fine."

"Concussion? Wounds?" I squeaked, growing paler by the second.

"Blair? You don't look so good yourself…" Then everything went black.

**MADDOX'S POV**

Blair's eyes suddenly rolled back in her head and I caught her limp body just before it hit the floor.

"Guys, what do I do with her?" I asked loudly, standing there with the unconscious girl in my arms.

"Upstairs in her room. Just put her on the bed and shut the door. We haven't got time for anything else." Trick said, nodding at the stairs. I sighed. I wasn't exactly looking forwards to climbing a flight of stairs while holding a pregnant girl at least four inches taller than me.

I finally got her to her room and left her on the bed when I heard Beckett cry out in pain. The Brotherhood must have gotten here already. The Brotherhood (or _Die Bruderschaft_) was one of the richest baby gangs in the city, and they somehow had a bunch of members who were all read up on medical books so we all called on them when we needed to keep someone out of the hospital.

"…bullet… too deep… knife fight… severe concussion... possible memory loss…" I listened to the snippets of conversation between the new voices downstairs. Another shout of pain, comforting whispers, worried ones from others.

What the hell had happened to him?


	9. Chapter 9

**BECKETT'S POV-FLASHBACK**

"Come on upstairs, kid. There's something I want you to see." Benny said, gesturing towards a door to my left. I glanced behind me, wondering if I could make a run for it the way I came, but a thug was standing in my way. Seeing as there wasn't anything I could do at the moment, I followed him through the door. Benny led me into an elevator, with the intimidating thug right behind me. I stood tensely, trying to concoct some sort of escape plan without being obvious. Three stories up, the elevator jerked to a halt and the doors slid silently open to reveal a well-decorated office.

"Go on in." Benny said with a sick smirk sliding across his face. I stepped forwards and felt Benny slip past me to the ornate mahogany desk at the other end of the room. He sat down in the chair behind it.

"Look out that window." He said, pointing to the large window on one side of his desk. I walked right up to it and looked outside. All I saw was the broken-down building across the street.

"What's your name, kid?" Benny asked.

"Beckett." I didn't see the point in lying.

"Good name. Want to join up with us, Beckett?"

"No." I replied, even though I knew he wasn't really asking. Benny sighed.

"Is there anything interesting outside that window?" He inquired.

"Is there supposed to be?" I asked in return. Well, I began to ask. I didn't actually have a chance to finish the sentences before my face was smashed into-correction: until my face was smashed _through_ the window. The broad hand palming the back of my head pulled my back by my hair and let go. They wanted to see what I would do. I turned around with my arms up in a defensive position. The thugs hand slid right through my arms and grasped my throat, squeezing tightly and giving a vicious shove. I felt myself about to fall out of the window and scrabbled at the sides of the window frame, feeling the broken glass slice my palms. I managed to capture a decent hold on either side, and hung on for life (literally).

Benny got up and casually strolled over to the window. He looked down at me and sighed again. "Now are you going to join us, kid?"

I tried to say never, but at this point any noise I made would come out soundly like a strangled giraffe.

"A little farther, Tony. I think he needs some more fresh air to help him think."

"Yeah, boss." The thug agreed and pushed harder. I tried to ignore the black spots appearing in my vision and fought to keep my hold on the window frame.

"Pull him in. He's almost gone." I faintly heard Benny say. Another hand closed around my collar and next thing I knew I was taking great heaving breaths on the floor of the office. Benny crouched down next to me, adjusted his watch and raised an eyebrow.

"Now that you've had sometime to think, have you got a different answer for me?" He raised a quizzical yet menacing eyebrow.

"No." I coughed.

"Hey, boys. I think Beckett here needs a few more reason to join up." Benny snapped his fingers and two more thugs lifted me by my arms, holding me up so my feet were on the ground with my legs slightly bent. I tensed up, carefully watching Tony. I wasn't sure what he was about to do, but I knew it would hurt. My eyes went wide as he pulled out a long, thin blade with one serrated edge from a hidden sheath in his jacket.

"Wait a second, you look like you've got something to say." Benny said, putting an arm between Tony and I. " Anything you'd like to tell me, boy?"

"No." I said, setting my jaw and relaxing my gut. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad…

Nope. It was bad. It was really bad. I screamed. I mean, I didn't just cry out or anything it was a real, bloody murder scream. Not from the original stab, but when he twisted the blade… This was going to be a long night.

Stab. Twist. Scream. Repeat.

"Stop…" I gasped. The thugs let me go and I collapsed on the carpet, coughing up blood.

"What'd you say?" Benny put a hand up to his ear like he hadn't quite heard me.

"Stop, just stop." I repeated. I brought a hand to my stomach, and felt the blood flowing out, soaking my shirt.

"Is that all you want to tell me?"

"No…" I said. He must have thought I meant that I had more to say, but I'd really meant I still wouldn't join. He could kill me before I'd join.

"Take him to our nurse, Tony. We can hear the rest of what he's got to say later."

"Yeah, boss." Tony hoisted me up and I groaned despite my best efforts to stay quiet. I feigned being in a half-conscious state when he set me against a wall in the elevator.

"Oh, Tony!" Benny called after him. "Get this out of here. I don't want your knives left in my office every time we do this."

"Sorry, boss." Tony walked across the room to retrieve his blade and I made my move. My hand shot out and hit the close door button. Nobody noticed until they were half shut, and then there wasn't enough time to reach me in time. I smashed the emergency glass and flipped the disabling switch. I was safe for now. I slid down against the mirrored wall and tried to take a long, deep breath. Nope, too painful. I looked up at the maintenance panel. I _could_ go through there, but it was right where they would be expecting me, plus I needed to go down. I began to feel around for something under the deep blue carpeted floor, and felt a slightly raised square under the shag. I clawed at the edge of the carpet and managed to pry a piece up, then ripped it back far enough to uncover the panel. It was just what I'd hoped for, a lower maintenance entryway. Red drops splattered onto the cool metal surface. I puzzled at them for a moment, before realizing that they were falling from my own face and torso. I had to push through the pain and hurry. I didn't have much time. I pulled up the door and carefully slipped through the small opening, wincing at every movement. There was a ladder set into the wall on one side. I reached for it, but my fingers fell far too short. Right now I had one hand wrapped around one of the thick steel cables, and the other still hooked on the elevator floor. If I was able to hang between the two cables, and then somehow leap to the ladder, I might make it. It was a chance I had to take. I tightened my grip on the cable and let go of the elevator, sliding down at least five feet before I could stop myself. I clung to the taught cable, using my feet and the hand that had been clinging to the elevator just a second ago to hang on. I pulled my hand that I slid down the cable to my face and squinted at it. There was barely any skin left on my palm. I heard someone tramping around on top of the elevator and panic kicked in. I didn't have time to assess my injuries. I held back a cry as I jumped to the next cable, and then to the ladder. I put the tops of my feet and my fingertips around the outside of the ladder and started sliding down as fast as I could fall. When I was almost three stories down I tightened my grip, slowing to a stop and using tiny foot and handholds in the walls to shimmy across to the doors where the elevator would have stopped. I balanced on the tiny ledge in front of the doors and crammed my fingers in-between them, grunting as I pulled them apart and slid through the gap.

"Who-who are you?" An alarmed looking girl asked. She was tall and shapely, only a little older than Blair.

"Nobody." I said firmly. "You never saw me. Got it?"

She nodded and ran out another door. I went the opposite way through the door leading into the first office. Big mistake. There was another thug standing casually behind the desk, talking to another young woman. When she saw me, she ran out of the room just like the other girl had. The thug's eyes narrowed and he stepped towards me. I made a dash for the door but something wooden hit me in the back. I fell forwards, landing with full force on my skinned hand. It snapped multiple times but I tried to pretend it didn't. I had no time to be hurt. I scrambled to my feet and did the first thing that popped into my head. I kicked him in the balls. His face went blank as he fell first to his knees, then over onto his side in a moaning little ball. I went through the next door and sprinted down the hall. Soon enough I was on the street, but I wasn't in the clear for long. The pounding of Benny's goons followed me for nearly three miles. Unfortunately for them, I knew the alleys better. I'd lost them by the time I had to stop. I was in too much pain and losing too much blood to run all the way home. I would have to walk, to sneak all the way back without being seen by any civilians. It was only three in the afternoon now, but I wouldn't get home until seven o'clock, and by then I wasn't entirely sure I would be alive.

**BECKETT'S POV**

Someone was poking at my wounds, trying to examine them. I felt another snap in my hand and I gave an involuntary cry. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? I was on the brink of unconsciousness, but every new snap, poke and prod kept me awake. I coughed, choking on the blood still coming up from my stomach. Hands pushed me up into a sitting position and I coughed again, the blood splattering across the idiot who kept poking me. The hands eased me back down but before I'd reached the couch I was finally unconscious and away from the pain. 


End file.
